Chemistry on the micro-scale, involving the reaction and subsequent analysis of quantities of reagents or analytes of order microliters or smaller, is an increasingly important aspect of the development of new substances in the pharmaceutical and other industries (e.g., synthesis and analysis of new conductive polymers, phosphors, superconductors, etc.). Such reaction and analysis must accommodate vast libraries of compounds to be reacted and analyzed under various conditions. Significant problems associated with current technologies as applied to chemical analysis of vast numbers (potentially on the order of hundreds of thousands or millions per day) of compounds include the problem of conveying analytes from well plates in which libraries of compounds are kept to regions of reaction and analysis, potential contamination of the transport medium, and the sheer size of the facility required to handle vast numbers of compounds and reactions.
Existing technology applies 96-well plates containing quantities on the order of 1 milliliter of liquid compound per well, and, generally, envisions chemical reactions and analysis on flat, two-dimensional surfaces such as silicon chips. In addition to the parallel processing of liquid samples provided by chip technology, a method is required to perform serial steps of liquid sampling, transport, and microchemical analysis.